Golden Spike
This spike was the final spike driven to join the various railways as engraved:- the ‘Peterborough, Wisbeach & Sutton’, the ‘Lynn & Fakenham’, the ‘Yarmouth & North Norfolk’ and the ‘Yarmouth Union’. According to the Ronald H Clark book ‘A Short History of the Midland &Great Northern Joint Railway’ (p51), the spike was ceremonially driven in by William Marriott, later recovered, gold plated and engraved, then passed to the Railway’s builders, Wilkinson & Jarvis. The other 2 sides of the spike are engraved ‘Wilkinson & Jarvis. Civil Engineers’ on one and ‘Eastern & Midlands Railway. Labor Omnia Vincet’ on the other (Latin tag translates as ‘Work will conquer all’)
This engraved side celebrates the joining of 5 railways to complete the line between Lynn and Yarmouth.
The engraved record of the driving of the spike,
on 3rd April 1883
Please note that the spelling ‘Wisbeach’ is as it used to be, before the spelling became what it is today (probably another M&GN name change, like Sherringham and Bourn)
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